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BP in Talks With Rosneft Over Stake in Siberian Oil Field

Proposed Deal Unlikely to Be Subject to West’s Sanctions on Shale and Arctic Reserves Technology

An oil drilling platform in the Vankor field, operated by a Rosneft subsidiary, is in a petroleum-rich area of Eastern Siberia. BP is in talks with Rosneft that could give it a stake in the Taas-Yuriakh field in the same region, a person familiar with the matter has said.
Bloomberg News

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PLC is negotiating a deal with Kremlin-controlled oil giant OAO Rosneft that could give it a percentage of an Eastern Siberia field believed to have large petroleum reserves, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The talks for the U.K. oil and gas company to acquire a stake in the Taas-Yuriakh field come at a time when Western sanctions—imposed in response to Russia’s role in Ukraine—prohibit companies from exporting technology for tapping shale and arctic reserves to Russia. The proposed deal would likely not be subject to any such sanctions.

BP already owns nearly 20% of Rosneft, which has been under pressure due to the sanctions and oil prices that have fallen by more than 40% since June. It isn’t yet clear how that pressure will affect BP’s income from Rosneft, which paid BP a dividend of close to $700 million this year. Rosneft declined to comment. The talks were first reported by Kommersant.